He abruptly slapped away his quiver, clutching only the longbow in his hand, his figure transforming into a green streak of light, bursting forth with unprecedented speed, clinging tightly behind Shen Mu's rapidly departing silver silhouette.
The other Twilight Rangers, their initial shock subsiding, no longer hesitated. They discarded their spare quivers and excess equipment, pushing their elven agility to the extreme, and flew desperately through the ruins' debris and broken walls.
However, the Abyssal Lesser Undead were faster!
Dozens of Skeleton Gnolls let out excited and cruel hisses; their strides were incredibly long, their Skeleton bodies trailing dark red sulfurous wakes in the black mist. Their black iron scimitars sliced through the air, each swing seemingly cutting through distance, as they ferociously lunged at the fleeing scout team!
Hundreds of Abyssal Lesser Undead were like rabid dogs stimulated by blood, their dark red crystalline cores flickering madly in their eyes. They moved on all fours, their bones grinding with an ear-splitting sound, tearing through the obstacles of the ruins relentlessly, chasing them down!
They roared, and some Lesser Undead even detonated small fragments of their crystalline cores while running, using the explosive recoil to accelerate wildly! Dark red energy fragments, like a meteor shower, followed closely behind, threatening to engulf any lagging elves at any moment!
The distance between the two sides was rapidly closing! The scraping sound of cold bone claws, the heavy thud of Skeleton feet, and the sharp whistling of Gnoll scimitars, mixed with an increasingly clear stench of sulfur, were almost right behind the desperately fleeing elves!
A young Twilight Ranger stumbled, tripped by a rebar that had collapsed diagonally! In that instant, a winged Lesser Undead, with grotesquely spread wing bones, flutter in front, swooped down like a blood-red lightning bolt! Its sharp bone-spiked claws gleamed with a deadly cold light, aiming directly for his back!
Despair!
Just at this critical moment—
"Holy Tree Knight! Clear the path!" Shen Mu's cold, unruffled voice, like a pre-set gate command, abruptly rang out in the strong wind!
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!
Ahead, to the side and rear of the Pangen Bastion, at the edge of that relatively open but half-shrouded abandoned commercial district within the Abyssal black mist!
The ground suddenly trembled!
The heavy, lead-gray sky seemed to be torn apart by a colossal force!
Ten silver bolts of lightning, like judgment thunder that had long lain dormant in the Abyssal shadows, erupted without warning from behind a pile of massive concrete ruins, from holes broken open at the base of tottering skyscrapers, and even from deep pits on the ground filled with putrid water... They burst forth with a roar!
It was the Holy Tree Knight!
They were clad in Mithril heavy armor personally supervised by Shen Mu, with runes on the armor's surface flowing with platinum-gold Holy Flames of Order! The warhorses beneath them were also covered in rune-inscribed Mithril plate armor, like mobile steel fortresses!
The leading Knight was the captain, whose spiritual core was closely linked to Shen Mu. He raised the Mithril greatsword, which seemed to be forged from stars, and its cold blade pointed directly at the pursuing Gnoll squad!
Their charge was not directed at the scout team, but rather a cruel and precise cut into the middle section between the scout team and the pursuers! Like the most merciless wedge, they fiercely hammered into the gap only a few hundred meters from Shen Mu and his team!
The timing was exquisitely precise! It was launched at the exact moment Shen Mu led his team, "dragging" the pursuers into the designated area!
Boom! Crackle, crackle, crackle!!!
The silver torrent of steel crashed violently into the surging dark red tide!
There was no probing, only destruction!
The Holy Tree Knight's steel lances, like hammers of judgment, directly impaled and purified several of the leading Abyssal Lesser Undead, along with their exploding crystalline fragments!
The Mithril greatsword, carrying the divine power of crushing decay, swung down fiercely! A Skeleton Gnoll attempting to parry with its blade, its black iron scimitar, along with its hard arm bone and half of its body burning with Abyssal fire, was directly cleaved to pieces by the silver light amidst a sharp tearing sound! Violent platinum-gold Holy Flames erupted from the wound, instantly incinerating the shattered remains into ash! It also swept several closely following Lesser Undead into the purifying light stream to be burned!
"For Order!" The cold battle cry of the Holy Tree Knight echoed across the battlefield amidst the explosions.
There was no passionate zeal, only metallic coldness and efficiency! The Knight's formation was like a precise meat grinder, instantly pulverizing the most aggressive vanguard of the pursuers and spreading chaos backward like a plague!
Shen Mu didn't even look back at the tragic yet glorious relief battlefield. The moment the Holy Tree Knight roared into the charge, he had already taken the lead, sweeping the frantically rushing elves behind him, like a cold whirlwind carrying vitality, breaking through the already open heavy gate of the Pangen Bastion without stopping!
The heavy gate slammed shut behind them, its enormous impact like a heavy rest note ending this desperate pursuit.
Inside the Pangen Bastion, earth-shattering cheers and urgent dispatch orders instantly engulfed them.
But Shen Mu's steps did not falter in the slightest. He walked directly to the command platform at the core of the Pangen Bastion, his gaze beneath the full-face helmet seemingly penetrating the thick wooden walls, still firmly fixed on the turbulent Abyssal black domain core to the west, where intense energy disturbances had appeared due to the Holy Tree Knight's fierce assault.
He heard Legolas and the others' gasping, like bellows, after their narrow escape.
However, in his cold perception, the Doom Wolf Shadow floating above the demonic pillar in the distance, in the depths of its Abyssal blood-diamond-like giant pupils, glowed with an even colder and more greedy light due to this failed pursuit and the newly emerged Holy Tree Knight's power...
The Abyssal dining table had been invaded. And the predator's response would be unprecedentedly fierce. The next encounter would be a more direct collision between steel order and endless chaos!
Shen Mu continued walking, heading straight for the core command platform of the Pangen Bastion. The clanking of his Mithril heavy armor sounded exceptionally cold and heavy in the fortress's unique solemn atmosphere. Behind him, Legolas and the surviving Twilight Rangers finally stopped, leaning on their bows and panting heavily, their faces still bearing traces of unvanished terror. Kalanzo and several generals who had arrived upon hearing the news, including the Rodok Sergeant officer, the Vigia Sharpshooter captain, and the Holy Tree Knight commander, had already anxiously gathered outside the command room.
"My Lord!" Kalanzo spoke first, sulfurous ash still clinging to his bushy beard, his voice urgent, "The commotion outside... are you alright? It seems the Holy Tree Knight's side..."
Shen Mu waved his hand, pushing open the heavy wooden door with a fluid and cold motion, interrupting Kalanzo. He did not look back, nor did he pause for a moment to offer comfort or recount the thrilling reconnaissance encounter, walking directly into the command room filled with tactical sand tables and projection crystals. He walked straight to the large, three-dimensional energy sand table, engraved with the topography of Long City's ruins. On the sand table, the areas originally symbolizing the mutual tug-of-war between the Black Iron Skeleton Legion and the Abyssal Lesser Undead forces had been instantly marked by Shen Mu's mental power, turning into vast swathes of deep black, symbolizing "completely devoured."
"I'm fine. The Holy Tree Knight is holding back the pursuers." Shen Mu's voice, muffled by his full-face helmet, remained perfectly steady, as if the life-and-death chase he had just endured was merely a routine patrol. He raised his hand, and a faint light precisely indicated two locations marked on the sand table. "Targets: Industrial Park West District and Central Plaza, confirmed."
He paused slightly, his cold gaze beneath the full-face helmet sweeping over the generals who had followed him in, especially Kalanzo with his questioning look and Legolas, who was filled with worry.
"Legolas's previous report was entirely correct." Shen Mu's voice was like a judge's pronouncement, carrying absolute certainty, "The Abyssal Lesser Undead and the remnant Seventh Dynasty Undead Legion are engaged in a... never-ending death match. And—"
His finger tapped two more locations on the sand table, his cold gaze, like a searchlight, focusing on Kalanzo's face.
"—the Abyss is the predator, and the Undead are the prey. What we witnessed at the edge of the plaza was not an isolated conflict, but a systematic, complete crushing and digestion."
The command room instantly fell into a heavy silence. The generals' expressions of doubt were replaced by solemnity, giving way to a deeper chill. Kalanzo subconsciously touched the Lesser Undead skull trophy hanging at his waist, which he had previously been so proud of. The muscles on his rugged face twitched, as if for the first time he truly understood that what his trophy represented was merely a remnant on the truly terrifying Abyssal dining table. His previous ecstasy and the boastful words "What if it's the Abyss?" now seemed incredibly naive. This was not a misjudgment on his part, but rather his failure to grasp the essence of this consumption—the Abyss was not expelling competitors, but harvesting the last "nutrients."
"But my Lord," Kalanzo's voice was much lower, tinged with confusion, "since they are fighting to the death, with heavy internal attrition, wouldn't that be... beneficial to us?" He couldn't finish his sentence, clearly realizing that his previous thoughts had been overly optimistic.
"The brief window is about to close." Shen Mu coldly cut off his hopeful thought. "The Undead Legion's demise is far faster than anticipated. The core will of the Abyss," he raised his hand and pointed to the core point on the sand table representing the Doom Wolf Shadow's core black domain, where viscous black mist surged, "is accelerating its absorption of the final essence. It is efficiently harvesting through the Skeleton Gnolls!"
As if to confirm Shen Mu's words, a Wood Elf technical officer operating the tactical light screen exclaimed, "My Lord! The energy readings of the core black domain! That... that massive dark red energy pillar, it's continuously strengthening! And... the outer light screen feedback, those residual Lesser Undead energy remnants... they are still flowing towards the core! Just like... like a stream flowing backward!"
"Hiss..." Several generals gasped. This direct data proved Shen Mu's assertion more powerfully than any words—the Abyss was accelerating its feeding, consolidating its power! That brief "respite" and the "Undead resistance" seen during reconnaissance were simply the Undead's final flicker before complete annihilation!
Legolas closed his eyes, the whispers of despair from the Forest Will becoming clearer. "They are wailing... their final deaths, dragged into eternal darkness..." he added softly, his face pale.
Shen Mu turned back to the panoramic observation window, his Mithril heavy armor's silhouette, against the interplay of the dim sky outside the window and the golden glow of the Holy Light Tower, resembled a cold statue. He looked at the constantly expanding Abyssal core on the sand table, his voice like quenched cold iron, striking the tense nerves of every general:
"Maintain the highest level of alert. Execute the plan as established. Reinforce the defense nodes of the 'Thorn Ring.' Notify Bandak that all ballistas at the Forest Fortress are to enter ready-to-fire status. Order all tower forests to keep detection mode continuously active. I want to know every node of the core black domain's energy surge! The Abyss's digestion... has reached its final stage."
He no longer used the phrase "they are not of the same faction" to emphasize, because everyone already understood this cruel truth—they were indeed not of the same faction, but the result of that tragic "death match" would only be one: the Abyss would completely control all remaining death power in this city, and become stronger and more greedy. The Elf Forest Bulwark would no longer just be an outpost blocking wandering Undead, but would directly face the final, and most violent, impact of the Abyssal behemoth that had devoured the entire essence of Long City's Undead.
The generals' faces were as grim as iron. Kalanzo heavily pounded the armor on his chest, producing a dull clang. This time, there were no more grand pronouncements of ambition, only an iron-like resolve. Inside the fortress, the brief, fervent fire ignited by the Knights bringing back trophies completely extinguished, replaced by a heavier, more solid, cold will. The countdown to the storm had already begun to tick silently.
The heavy gate slammed shut behind them, isolating the roars and clashes of the Holy Tree Knight and the Abyssal Lesser Undead outside, and temporarily cutting off the suffocating sulfurous stench and cold killing intent. The temporary safety within the Pangen Bastion brought no relaxation; urgent dispatch orders and the suppressed breathing of soldiers intertwined.
Shen Mu stood before the three-dimensional sand table in the command room, the surging Abyssal black domain in the energy projection resembling a festering wound. When the Wood Elf technical officer reported the continuous strengthening of the core energy pillar, his gaze beneath the full-face helmet suddenly condensed into an ice pick.
"Herald!" His voice penetrated the Pangen Bastion's clamor.
"Here, my Lord!"
"Immediately summon Bandak. All ballista commanders of the Forest Fortress are to assemble. Notify the Rodok Armory: all sniper crossbows are to be equipped with demon-piercing bolts. Vigia Arrow Towers are to be supplied with Holy Light-infused arrows. Kujit Stables are to prepare seven days' worth of fodder." The commands interlocked with the precision of adamantine gears, leaving no room for questioning.
When Bandak strode in, Shen Mu's fingertip was already on an extension line of the sand table: "Move twelve sets of heavy ballistas from the Forest Fortress three hundred meters forward to the outer fortifications of the Pangen Bastion. Their firing range is to cover the interface between the tower forest's light screen and the mist—I want your bolts to pierce through the skull sutures of the Gnolls."
"Understood!" Bandak saluted, his calloused palm stroking the range-finding crystal at his waist. "Add scorching rune-tipped spears, specifically for clustered targets."
Shen Mu nodded, his gaze turning to the Rodok and Vigia officers: "Increase the Rhodok Crossbowmen to eighty, occupying all upper battlements. Vigia Sharpshooters are to be organized into three rotating firing sequences; the arrow rain must not cease. Tell the soldiers: the dark fire in the Skeleton Gnolls' eye sockets is the bullseye." (End of Chapter)
